The term “flash flood” refers to sudden floods having high peak discharges in a short response time. They result from a combination of meteorological and hydrological factors. Intense storm events delivering high amounts of rain water appear to be the first condition for flash flooding to be initiated. Watershed characteristics such as small catchments (under 500 km2 ) or steep slopes are associated with short and rapid flood timing. Flash floods are one of the most destructive hazards in the Mediterranean region and have caused casualties and billions of euros of damages in France over the last two decades. The recent case of June 2013 occurred in the Pyrenees killed 2 people and resulted in thousands of victims. The damages were estimated at about 134 million euros. The contrasted topography, the complexity of the continental surfaces in terms of geology and land use, the difficulty to characterize the initial moisture state of the catchments make these extreme events very difficult to assess and predict. The proposed PhD will aim at improving the understanding of the hydrological response by contemporary use of empirical and analytical (or rainfall-runoff) modelling. The ambition is to develop an operational methodology for the anticipation of the risk of inundation. The work will include an inter-comparison of models dedicated to flash flood prediction and allowing the characterization of the resulting risk. The proposed work will therefore contribute to the building of a relevant methodology of risk evaluation for a better protection of the population. The long-standing collaboration between the IMFT and the SCHAPI2 will facilitate the transfer of knowledge to the appropriate operational services. Leer más de esta entrada

CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), is a subsidiary of CNES (French Space Agency), IFREMER (French
Research Institute for exploration of the sea) and ARDIAN (ex Axa Private Equity), created in 1986.
CLS is specialized in satellite-based services and wants to develop added-value services dedicated to
institutions, governments and private industry in regards to the understanding, protection and
management of surface water resources. CLS does not have any in house hydrologist.
This trainee is expected to work six months for CLS. This will constitute the final report of a master’s
degree. The objective is to provide thematic support to CLS staff in their investigations to understand the
users’ needs, seen through a professional eye and environment, and the possible services that can be
made available to them now or in the future.
The subject would be: “Building up dedicated space-based services to monitor and protect surface water
resources”.
The geographical area of the study will be set depending on CLS needs. The area can be in Europe, Asia,
Africa or America.

This Summer School is devoted to runoff prediction in ungauged basins (PUB), i.e., predicting water runoff at locations where no runoff data are available. This lack of data presents considerable challenges to catchment managers who require information on water flows for decision making. This course, based on the recently published book, “Runoff Prediction in Ungauged Basins: Synthesis across Processes, Places and Scales”, will provide hydrologists with the theory and methods to address this critical challenge. The collection of speakers will bring together results from individual location-based studies and show how a comparative approach can be applied to learn from the differences and similarities between catchments around the world along gradients of climate and landscape features.

The DRIHM project announces the DRIHM Summer School 2014 on Hydro-meteorological modelling using e-Science environments, the school takes place from September 22nd until September 25th 2014 at the Civil Engineering School of the Technical University of Madrid. Attending the summer school is free of charge, including lecture notes and lunches. There are 15 scholarships available to cover travel and accommodation costs.

It is possible to participe in the DRIHM Summer School by emailing a letter of interest that briefly indicates your motivation, background, previous experience with hydro-meteorological models and the expectations you have of the school. If you wish to apply for financial support, please state so in your letter. Please send this letter to summerschool@drihm.eu latest by Friday, July 25th 2014. A maximum of 24 participants will be notified by July 30th 2014.